Centre to release draft civil aviation policy today

The policy might address critical issues - ground handling of aircraft, regional connectivity, airport charges and bilateral traffic rights

After much delay, the National Democratic Alliance government is finally going to release the draft civil aviation policy today.

The uncertainty over relaxing the international flying norm is likely to remain as the Union government may ask for public opinion over the issue stating all the options in hand. However, the policy may address critical issues such as ground handling of aircraft, regional connectivity, airport charges and bilateral traffic rights.

The policy will touch upon issues such as the route dispersal guidelines, maintenance, repair and overhaul service, code-share agreement, Airports Authority of India's new projects, the helicopter policy and aeronautical Make In India.

On the present 5/20 rule (an airline has to have five years of operations and at least 20 aircraft to fly on international routes), the ministry will likely state all the four available options - retaining the current norm, scrapping it, moving to a credit-based system linked to route dispersal guidelines, and allowing airlines to fly abroad immediately, on an assurance that they would attain the required credits. The issue has divided the domestic aviation sector, with all the existing airlines opposing any move to scrap the present norms and new players in favour of relaxing it.

In a major relief, the airlines may be allowed to self-handle the services at airports, which include check-in, luggage handling, aircraft cleaning and servicing, loading and unloading of food and beverages. The airlines would be permitted to hire contract workers to perform the job. The present rule states only permanent employees handle ground operations but private airlines mostly either hire contract workers or use external agencies.

Centre wants to create an ecosystem to tap into the tier II and tier III city traffic where 300 million middle-class people reside. The draft policy may talk about ensuring at least one flight for every middle class passenger per year so that there is a multifold rise in the traffic from the present 70 million passengers. India's air traffic growth is mainly driven by the metro routes at present.

The civil aviation policy will attempt to revive the ambitious low-cost airports project which was junked earlier this year by doing away with the requirement of maintaining a minimum rate of return for developing regional airports. Currently, the finance ministry's public investment board appraises projects with an internal rate of return of at least 12 per cent.

Earlier this year, the Union government had scrapped a proposal to build 50 low-cost airports, as most were found unviable. A regional connectivity scheme will be framed to incentivise states to identify potential regional airports. According to the scheme, a regional connectivity fund will be formed by charging two per cent cess on air tickets. The state government concerned will identify potential airports on which the Centre will provide viability gap funding on air tickets from 80 per cent of the regional connectivity fund and the rest will come from the state.